Human Rights Violations Consequent to Transshipment Practices in Fisheries

Authors

Chelsey F. Marto, University of Maine School of LawFollow

Document Type

Comment

Abstract

Transshipment, the process of transferring catch from a small fishing vessel onto a larger fishing vessel far off shore, has been used to commit a variety of human rights abuses on the sea. Companies can get away with this because there is little to no oversight over the activities. Yet, there has been little to no incentive to change these practices, because companies are generally not penalized for these actions. The author proposes a variety of tactics be implemented in addressing these concerns. These include imposition of sanctions upon countries who allow for nefarious activities, increased video surveillance on board ships to guarantee acceptable worker conditions and penalizing companies that do not participate in surveillance measures, and encouraging governments to incentivize private businesses to purchase their catch from responsible fishing companies. If these strategies are implemented in a way where they "have teeth," the fishing industry will hopefully move in the right direction, decreasing the number of human rights violations committed on the high seas and increasing the number of ships practicing responsible fishing practices worldwide.

First Page

32

Recommended Citation

Chelsey F. Marto, Human Rights Violations Consequent to Transshipment Practices in Fisheries, 24 Ocean & Coastal L.J. 32 (2019).
Available at: https://digitalcommons.mainelaw.maine.edu/oclj/vol24/iss1/3